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Up until very recently, Chad Kiser assumed he wouldn't be the head coach of a program this upcoming season. The long-time LaBrae coach took an assistant role on the Newton Falls staff, expecting to be along for the ride.
That changed when the head coaching position at Mathews opened up. Mathews called Kiser to speak with him about the job. After some time, Kiser decided to get back on the horse and be a head coach again.
On Wednesday, Kiser's hire as the Mustangs' boys basketball coach was approved during a Mathews school board meeting.
Kiser had little familiarity with the Mathews program over the years. The teams haven't played each other and shared very few common opponents. Despite that, everyone he spoke to before taking the job liked the move for both Kiser and the Mathews community.
"I've talked to other coaches around the area that have played them, and I've heard some great things about their kids and the community. Everyone that's worked there, coached there, I've talked to different coaches in different sports that have been there, and all tell me the community is great," Kiser said. "The school community is very solid, and (Athletic Director Mike) Palumbo, I got some good reports from him as well. Him being a former coach and having that backing made a difference. They're very supportive."
With the season fast approaching, it's going to be a chaotic time between now and the team's first game scheduled for the beginning of December.
"Usually you have a summer to start working on some things, and I don't know any of the kids yet," Kiser said. "We're starting from scratch. I've heard great things talking to other coaches around the area that have played them.
"The first part is to try to get to know those kids and what they're capable of doing. That's the toughest part."
Mathews is coming off a 12-11 season and years of steady success. Some coaching changes are program resets, but Kiser hopes this is more of a continuation of what's already been built.
"It's not a program that needs to (rebuild), so I think that helps," Kiser said. "We just need to teach them a little bit how we do things, which I don't think is going to be much different from what they're used to. I'm excited, but a lot of basic things to get done before we can get to some of the more complicated and in-depth things. But it'll come. That's the good thing about basketball. You got a nice solid month of practice time before we really get into the games."
If there's one value that's been foundational to the success of Kiser's programs, it's hard work.
"We're going to do things the right way. We pride ourselves on it," Kiser said. "I've always prided ourselves and our teams on hard work and outworking our opponents and just playing for each other. Basically, when you do things the right way, it all just leads to success. That's pretty simple. There's no secret sauce to winning, and it comes in hard work and then putting in the time and being coachable, and as a coach, adjusting to those kids and what they're capable of, and working together. That's what we're going to do. We're going to find a way to get it done."
The Mustangs' season is scheduled to begin Dec. 1 with a game against Columbiana.